Topic: Why has bitcoin had success in China? - page 10. (Read 7716 times)
Yes, bitcoin is starting to take off in Taiwan and majority in asian hands. Coins like Gulden will be for Europe in the future. Litecoin is also dominated by asian market.
I think it is more likely related to the chinese gambling mentality. They don't mind as much to take a risk to earn massive amounts of money, even if this involves a new technology that they (might) not fully understand.
This will speed up adoption, as they are not so reluctant and scared of potential losses.
This will speed up adoption, as they are not so reluctant and scared of potential losses.
How do you define "success"? I think only a very very small percentage of Chinese is using bitcoin. Not many merchants in China accept bitcoins. It is still far from "success" IMO.
One of the reasons bitcoin has been relatively successful in China is that the Chinese already have experience of using virtual currency, such as Q coins, which were introduced in 2002.
Q coins are issued by Tencent QQ – an instant messaging software service company with more than 800 million active users that offers a variety of services, such as online social games, music, shopping and microblogging.
From my experience, when asking Chinese people for their email address, around four out of 10 have an address on the QQ server.
Q coins can be purchased via a bank, telephone or Q card at an official price of 1 yuan per coin, and can be used for purchasing Tencent services, such as electronic greeting cards and online games.
On top of this existing exposure to virtual currency is the fact that bitcoin gives an opportunity for people to move money out of China and transact with international merchants/customers. This is important as there is currently a 350,000 yuan (around $50,000) limit on overseas investment.
Chinese exchange platforms, such as OKCoin, BTCC and Huobi, allow trading without charging a fee, thus, using bitcoin is faster and cheaper compared to traditional money transfer methods, such as Western Union.
This is important for the millions of Chinese who study and work abroad.
Zennon Kapron, financial technology expert and owner of the Shanghai-based consultancy Kapronasia, told CoinDesk that China's main experimentation in the bitcoin space is in trading and the manufacture and operation of mining equipment. He argues that, with this being the focus, bitcoin is unlikely to cause a financial revolution in China.
According to Kapron, to work in China, bitcoin has to become accessible and useful for the masses in daily transactions. This might be challenging. Merchant fees in China are lower than in the West and platforms such as Alipay and WeChat/Tenpay dominate the mobile and non-bank payment market.
While this might be true for the mainland, in greater China, and Taiwan, in particular, bitcoin seems to have a really kicked off.
Q coins are issued by Tencent QQ – an instant messaging software service company with more than 800 million active users that offers a variety of services, such as online social games, music, shopping and microblogging.
From my experience, when asking Chinese people for their email address, around four out of 10 have an address on the QQ server.
Q coins can be purchased via a bank, telephone or Q card at an official price of 1 yuan per coin, and can be used for purchasing Tencent services, such as electronic greeting cards and online games.
On top of this existing exposure to virtual currency is the fact that bitcoin gives an opportunity for people to move money out of China and transact with international merchants/customers. This is important as there is currently a 350,000 yuan (around $50,000) limit on overseas investment.
Chinese exchange platforms, such as OKCoin, BTCC and Huobi, allow trading without charging a fee, thus, using bitcoin is faster and cheaper compared to traditional money transfer methods, such as Western Union.
This is important for the millions of Chinese who study and work abroad.
Zennon Kapron, financial technology expert and owner of the Shanghai-based consultancy Kapronasia, told CoinDesk that China's main experimentation in the bitcoin space is in trading and the manufacture and operation of mining equipment. He argues that, with this being the focus, bitcoin is unlikely to cause a financial revolution in China.
According to Kapron, to work in China, bitcoin has to become accessible and useful for the masses in daily transactions. This might be challenging. Merchant fees in China are lower than in the West and platforms such as Alipay and WeChat/Tenpay dominate the mobile and non-bank payment market.
While this might be true for the mainland, in greater China, and Taiwan, in particular, bitcoin seems to have a really kicked off.
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